Finding is the executive director of LINK, a coalition of church congregations that provides shelter for homeless people in about 17 churches just during the winter months via the Port Shelter program. The Homeless Intervention Program is seeing "previously middle-income people" in significant numbers for the first time, Finding said.

"They have less ability to cope with the emergencies that are coming up through loss of income," Finding said.

"Our numbers are always significantly higher and they get higher every year."

This year the coalition dealt with 645 homeless people and 11,900 bed nights in 20 weeks.

The numbers were recorded from November 2008 to March 2009.

"Both the bed nights and the unduplicated number of people increased over the previous year," she said.

"There are women with kids who are sleeping in cars with no access to running water."

Many refuse to make contact with the authorities because they fear their kids will be taken away, Finding said.

LINK saw a large increase in people aged 62 and older and dealt with 23 more families than the previous year.

There also are more youth, ages 18-23, mostly males, showing up on the streets.

Finding said the city had turned down two applications from LINK for year-round shelters.

Newport News Mayor Joe Frank said the city has taken the advice of the professionals who said money is better spent in preventing homelessness in the first place than providing year-round shelters.

"We have an obligation to provide the services that are necessary," Frank said.

"The professionals are saying we really need to get homeless people into more permanent housing so there is more stability in their lives."